This has been one crazy week. Next week is more of the same. It's been good, though. Report coming, if I can carve out the time.

Last night in Tulsa, OK, was a GREAT time. The show was set up only two days prior, but thanks to my man Fostex, his Lunabread Cafe was jam-packed and rockin'. I sold about $200 in CDs alone. And the food at Lunabread is seriously some of the best I've ever tasted! They primarily use food from local organic farmers. No steroids or antibiotics in the meat. Free-range eggs. And Fostex makes his own butter and cream.

Midway through the set Fostex grabbed a stand-up bass and started jamming along to my country tunes. A guy named Josh, at whose house I later stayed, supplied beatbox on my rap songs.

The show in Oklahoma City was fun enough, but I only made $35. This stung quite a bit, because a careless promoter had led me to believe I had a $200 guarantee. In the morning, however, my friend Terri gave me a grand tour of the city and treated me to a most delicious lunch. Two other highlights: seeing the Oklahoma City National Memorial and doing a drive-by of Wayne Coyne's house.

I drove through the shadowy Ozark Mountains today to get to Columbia, Missouri, where I just headlined a benefit for the Missouri Rural Crisis Center. The two opening singers were both named Anna. The second Anna, Anna Duff, covered my song "Hit the Road," and did it way better than I do. Columbia always delivers.

Tomorrow: Champaign, Illinois.

I'm in Oklahoma City now at a restaurant called the Picasso Cafe. Show starts in an hour. Opening bands are Dr. Pants and Jabee (left).

Oklahoma is a good old state, home of both Will Rogers and Woody Guthrie.

Tomorrow I'll be performing at a Tulsa restaurant called Lunabread.

I forgot to mention, but my once-and-maybe-future tour pard Austin L. Jones had to back out of this tour due to lack of funds. His decision came on Thursday night, which left me three choices: 1) buy a funky old car, 2) rent a car, or 3) talk Hana into letting me drive the Subaru.

Choice number three won out. I'm happy to have the heated seats and all-wheel drive as I head to the icy north. Hana's not quite as pleased. : (

Greetings from the Barry Whistler Gallery in Dallas, TX. There was a bustling and dynamic art opening here tonight. I've got the space all to myself now.

Last night Barry and Allison V. Smith hosted a very sweet house concert at their place. Today Allison, with help from assistants Jessica and Rex, treated me to a photo shoot all around Dallas. Allison's generous and spontaneous shoots are becoming an annual Dallas tradition for me.

Here's a photo she took with her iPhone's Hipstamatic app.

I love Texas.

Tomorrow: Oklahoma. Northbound and up.

Got a theater? Know somebody who runs one? Email: info@rolloutcowboy.com and inquire about setting up a screening of Roll Out, Cowboy in your town!

The drive from Washington to Texas was cold and long.

Hana, Gilgamesh, and I thawed out at last when we arrived in New Mexico and soaked in Spence Hot Springs in the Jemez Mountains west of Albuquerque.

As we were leaving, Hana accidentally dropped the non-waterproof camera into the pool. It still works!

I've been hunkered down in Marfa booking shows for my upcoming tour, which starts this Friday in Dallas. Spending ten hours a day on the computer is NOT awesome, but the shows are rolling in, slowly and surely. So far, I have about fifteen confirmed gigs. Lookin' for ten more. I'll be touring with a young Texan named Austin L. Jones. He's a multi-instrumentalist and a fresh songwriter. I'm hoping he'll back me up (banjo, mandolin, etc.) on a few of my songs. We'll be traveling many miles in his pickup. Adventures!

It's insane to be leaving the sunny desert and sweet Hana (and Gilgamesh) for the sub-zero north country, but I've got cash to earn and movie screenings to promote. Hopefully next winter I'll relax, read some books, and get a tan.

Marfa really is magical, and tonight the moon is full. The temperature yesterday hit 76 F!

Have you heard of the Marfa Lights? Two nights ago Hana and I saw them. Odd phenomena, indeed.

Well, I still have lots to say, but it's late. Hopefully tomorrow I'll catch you up more.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day from Marfa, TX!

Hana, Gilgamesh, and I are on our way to Lubbock, TX. Tonight we're nestled down in Price, UT. Last night we stayed in Twin Falls, ID. Tomorrow night maybe Santa Fe, NM.

Hopefully, I'll soon have time to recount adventures. The four shows I just played were all memorable . . .

Update on Dad's broken leg (email from Mom): "Surgery went well, and he now has a titanium rod running the length of his left femur, right through the bone marrow, holding the femur together. The leg is still swollen and painful and will be for a while."

Upcoming Shows (my homepage is still broken)!

Olympia, WA - Tonight! At the Loft on Cherry (508 Legion). 7:30. $5-10 sliding scale.

Corvallis, OR - Tomorrow (1/7/11) at Interzone, Inc. 7 pm.

Portland, OR - Saturday (1/8/11) at Bar Bar Apartments above Mississippi Studios. 9 pm. $7 in advance / $8 day of show.

Kennewick, WA - Sunday (1/9/11) at Richard & Kim's Garage! 7pm. $5.

Lubbock, TX - (1/14/11) House Concert at the Hedges.

Marfa, TX - (1/15/11) The Marfa Book Co. 10 pm.

Two days ago, while attempting to get his pickup out of a snowdrift, Dad got smacked from behind by a sliding tractor. The force of it hitting his leg broke his femur. He lay in the snow for half-an-hour before the ambulance came. Surgery happened yesterday, and the doctor says he'll be walking normal again by April, but he'll always have a metal rod in his leg.

This is a game-changer for me. When I get back to North Dakota I plan to step up my role in helping to finish the house he and Mom are building.


Dad and I hiking up the Lochsa River in Idaho ten days ago on our way to Jerry Johnson's Hot Springs. Photo by Hana.